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Yankees Spring Training

Dellin Betances looked AWESOME yesterday. Dude hit 97 MPH on the gun -- we're talkin' 1st spring training appearance here. 1 IP, struck out the side..Montero looked very good too..He might wind up coming north as the starting catcher..Wouldn't surprise me..And how 'bout this Mexican dude outta nowhere -- Jorge Vazquez? Dude's hit 2 absolute BOMBS the last couple of days, yesterday's came against a Brad Lidge slider that actually wasn't a terrible pitch...This guy might make the club as the backup first baseman/DH over Chavez or whoever else..
Take a look at these numbers on Vazquez -- all basically in the Mexican league, but still...

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Dude looks like he has a clue with the bat -- big-time power, batting average, low strikeout totals..Again, I know it's the Mexican league but these numbers are impressive. Damn!.33 HRs in 285 ABs in '05?!?!?! 31 dingers in only 284 ABs in 2006?!?! WOW!!! And you can see it on TV -- watching him swing the stick you can see he's very capable..

It's early but I'm startin' to feel very good about what I'm seeing, esp outta some of these young guys..

Been waiting for Betances to break into the bigs for the past couple years since I heard about him playing for the Staten Island Yanks. Kid has a blazing fastball. Not overly impressed with his offspeed stuff but when you got a 97-98 mph fastball it makes up for a lot of weakness in your other pitches. We probably won't be seeing him or Manny Banuelos in any major league action until September callups at the absolute earliest though, they're not gonna rush these kids up to the bigs.

Agree about Vazquez, he's got some nice pop in his bat. I doubt he gets a real chance though this year unless Chavez gets injured. How is that guy's fielding skills, read anything about his defense bro?

How did Ivan Nova look? Think he's gonna have a real shot at 1 of the last 2 rotation spots?

Been waiting for Betances to break into the bigs for the past couple years since I heard about him playing for the Staten Island Yanks. Kid has a blazing fastball. Not overly impressed with his offspeed stuff but when you got a 97-98 mph fastball it makes up for a lot of weakness in your other pitches. We probably won't be seeing him or Manny Banuelos in any major league action until September callups at the absolute earliest though, they're not gonna rush these kids up to the bigs.

Agree about Vazquez, he's got some nice pop in his bat. I doubt he gets a real chance though this year unless Chavez gets injured. How is that guy's fielding skills, read anything about his defense bro?

How did Ivan Nova look? Think he's gonna have a real shot at 1 of the last 2 rotation spots?

I'm not sure about his defense, never seen him play before the last two televised spring training games, but here's an interesting article taken from the Yankees web site --- makes you believe there's some real competition between Chavez and Vazquez for the reserve corner infield spot. Looks like Girardi doesn't consider this guy's defense to be an issue so far:

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Chavez obviously has a leg up on this dude with the glove but if Chavez really can't handle the bat anymore like he used to AND Vazquez keeps proving he's no butcher with the glove at 1st & 3rd (which we're gonna need to know--I'd play him in the field every chance I had if I were Joe just to see) while continuing to tear the cover off the ball, I think I might prefer Vazquez after all..Vazquez's bat might suddenly become very important esp. if Posada underperforms as the primary DH early on and proves he's just not a regular player anymore..I guess he'd only be a phone call away though even if he didn't make it and we went with Chavez..Perhaps it's wishful thinking, but I'm starting to think we might be able to match Boston's offense even with all the moves they made to bolster their lineup this offseason -- Vazquez at DH, Montero behind the plate possibly, a healthy Grandy for the entire season, all this to go along with what's already there..Who knows man, we might have a chance to really close the gap with them a little bit..

Nova looked good the other day bro..Threw the ball real well and against the Phillies A-team before they started subbing guys in for their regulars..I think he's definitely in the lead for one of the last two spots in the rotation.

I'm worried about Jorge & Jeter this year, they both need to bounce back last year they were big disappointments. Not sure what to expect out of either of them at this stage in their careers. I think Montero will get his share of AB's this year sharing catching duties with Russ Martin, I think we're OK offensively for the most part. One good thing is this team has a deeper bench than they did last year. I'm interested to see what Andruw Jones can add to our roster, I think that was a good acquisition on Cashman's part.

Boston's world is blowing up after Ortiz said he wouldnt mind going to the Yanks next season. Funny stuff.

I wouldn't even want that guy even if he wanted to come here. Can't play any position on the field & his hitting skills are dwindling. We need to keep the DH position open for our own aging Yanks. But always good to hear about the Red Sux Nation's world blowing up.

I wouldn't even want that guy even if he wanted to come here. Can't play any position on the field & his hitting skills are dwindling. We need to keep the DH position open for our own aging Yanks. But always good to hear about the Red Sux Nation's world blowing up.

Put em in the Minors lol. He'll end up back with the Twins if not playing for the Red Sox.

Here's the video of Banuelos from the other day against the Red Sox..Tell me that's not the "easiest" 92-96 MPH gas you've ever seen..I betcha he can throw even harder eventually..First off, it's only spring training and the dude's already hitting 96 MPH (twice those two innings). Second, I don't know if it's me, but does it look like he's barely using his lower half on his deliveries to the plate?? He looks mostly upper body to me..Think Rocket Clemens for a sec -- that dude got a lot of his power from his lower half..Even fellow lefty Andy Pettitte had a much longer stride than this kid..I wonder if that's something they look to tweak a little for his own good..Still very impressive..Plus curveball and an excellent changeup..Kid's the goods boy..Singleton mentions Gator as a comparison; Joe likened him to Santana..Stuff wise, I agree more with Joe.

Here's video of Dellin Betances against the Phillies from the other day:

Here's the video of Banuelos from the other day against the Red Sox..Tell me that's not the "easiest" 92-96 MPH gas you've ever seen..I betcha he can throw even harder eventually..First off, it's only spring training and the dude's already hitting 96 MPH (twice those two innings). Second, I don't know if it's me, but does it look like he's barely using his lower half on his deliveries to the plate?? He looks mostly upper body to me..Think Rocket Clemens for a sec -- that dude got a lot of his power from his lower half..Even fellow lefty Andy Pettitte had a much longer stride than this kid..I wonder if that's something they look to tweak a little for his own good..Still very impressive..Plus curveball and an excellent changeup..Kid's the goods boy..Singleton mentions Gator as a comparison; Joe likened him to Santana..Stuff wise, I agree more with Joe.

Here's video of Dellin Betances against the Phillies from the other day:

Hmm, not seeing any Gator similarities there, not sure where Singleton's getting that from. Gator had a 95+ fastball with devastating 90+ slider & his motion was a lot more animated. Bannuelos has a very easy motion like you just pointed out & he's more of a fastball-curve-changeup pitcher, so from that standpoint your Johan comparison seems pretty dead on. But stuff wise I dunno if I can go there just yet, Johan was throwing 97mph gas consistently in his prime with a devastating changeup. I'll take Johan-Lite if we can get that out of Manny anyday. If we can groom this kid to being a solid #3 guy in the rotation I'll take that anyday of the week. Hopefully he pans out to be much more than that but after what's happened w/Joba, Hughes & Kennedy I'm gonna keep my expectations tempered for any of our young pitching prospects coming up from now on.

I'm more excited about Dellin Betances, since that kid was 18 I thought he would figure big in our rotation someday. Hopefully they handle this kid right & not screw with his head the way they did Joba.

I really hop Montero get's a chance to shine this season. All signs point to hif defense improving and his bat staying relatively consistent.

As for our 4th and 5th starters, looks like it'll be a combination of Nova, Garcia, and Colon. I guess it can't be TOO bad, right?

Unfortunately I think BoSox got us beat in the regular season, I see them taking the division and us taking the WC. Which I would be okay with, cause anything can happen in the playoffs.

Also, I'm looking forward to our Killer Bs: Banuelos, Betances, and Brackman, maybe next season they'll make their debuts. All 3 look like they have killer stuff.

Montero might just get a real shot at playing his fair share of innings at C this season w/Russ Martin's health always in question & Jorge no longer even an option for Joe G at the position. Cervelli's broken toe is gonna clear the way for the young phenom to show what he's got. Hopefully he's the real deal.

Hopefully Burnett righted the ship and has a big comeback year -- nice effort today with 3 scoreless innings against the Phillies. We're gonna need him to pitch like he's capable..We can't carry his ass again this year..Dude needs to step up.

I think Montero's gonna wind up being the starting catcher, I just get that feeling..Jorge Vazquez may not win the reserve corner infield spot over Chavez (Chavez 3-3 today; Vazquez 0-3, 2 Ks, 4 runners LOB) but I'd still take him..Dude's still hitting .467 this spring..They probably have options left on Vazquez, one big reason he may not come north with them when they break camp. If that's the case, I bet we see him in the Bronx at sometime this summer, if not sooner..Dude can rake..Kevin Long's supposedly made the same adjustment at the plate with Gardner that he did with Tex, Swish & Grandy: Two hands stay on the bat at all times on the swing..That little adjustment really helped those 3 stay on top of the ball a lot better--I'd expect the same results for Gardner..We need to get Gardy near .300 this year..He can do it..Supposedly the plan is for him to bunt a lot more this season as well. That'll be a welcome sight.. .300+, 50+ steals, lights out leftfield..That's gotta be the goal for him..

Tomorrow's a big game against the Braves (1pm on YES)..We'll get a chance to take another look at Betances and Andrew Brackman's supposedly making his first appearance..Haven't seen Brackman throw yet -- anxious to see what he's got..If he's anywhere near as impressive as Banuelos & Betances, we're in excellent shape for the future with this rotation. Who knows, maybe so good that all of a sudden we're able to shop a Phil Hughes for a bat or a reliever eventually..KILLER Bs baby!!!!!